Last evening was the second time I watched ‘A Full Bright Moon’ (Yilun Mingyue) – as the opening film of T.H.I.S Buddhist Film Festival (www.thisfilmfest.com), which tells the biography of the great Venerable Hongyi. I had already seen the video version of it, but I wanted to see it on the big screen – because [...]

Question: Is there a need to be a full-time vegetarian if I pay homage to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (Dizang Pusa)? Am asking because I’m going to install his image at home. Answer: It’s not compulsory, but it would be good to eat less meat, as many animals and Ksitigarabha Bodhisattva would rejoice greatly when they know of your compassionate [...]

The end lines of ‘Batman: Night Cries’ by Archie Goodwin and Scott Hampton read: ‘In the night, he listens. “Two million cases. Two thousand deaths. Too many cries. Someone else has to hear them.” In the night, he listens. And only the sound of his own voice comes to him, screaming in frustration. The cry [...]

This life, this suffering, this Samsara, is nothing but a springboard to Pureland. Pureland is nothing but a springboard to Bodhisattvahood. Bodhisattvahood is nothing but a springboard to Buddhahood. Buddhahood is nothing but a springboard to [re-manifestation of] Bodhisattvahood [out of endless compassion].

In ‘Superman: Redemption’ (by Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza and Walt Simonson), Superman hears the desperate prayers of an old lady (Barbara Johnson) with his super-hearing and saves her from being hit by a car. She was calling out to God for help and when Superman swoops down from the sky to heed her call instead, [...]

In ‘Drag Me to Hell’, a girl who was just living another day in relative paradise before she encounters an old gypsy woman. Having offended her by not helping her enough, she gets hell in return. A vicious curse makes her life a living hell for three days, before dragging her to an actual hell. [...]

Guanyin to Me My Mother is Guanyin to me because she prays to Guanyin for me. She isn’t really aspiring to embody her virtues.  She isn’t really chanting or meditating. She just runs through a wishlist of wanting our family to be well and happy. She still is Guanyin-ish to me, because she still embodies compassion [...]

In ‘Cairo’ by G. Willow Wilson & M.K. Perker: Asaad: How much is too much to sacrifice? For someone you love?… Yanni: I think there aren’t any sacrifices. There are only choices. I think if you give something up for someone, it won’t feel like a sacrifice. It’ll feel like the right thing to do. [...]

Here’s a re-telling of a Jataka Tale, with additional commentary at the end… Once upon a time, the Bodhisattva (future Buddha) was walking in a forest with his disciple, when he saw from atop a cliff, that a weak and hungry tigress was about to devour one of her also starving cubs. Moved by great [...]

Is one who suffers fools gladly one who is gladly a fool? Q:  What if someone is unreasonable? Should we suffer fools gladly? Should we speak up? I spoke up once but was disturbed that it displeased the person, while there was some anger in me. After that, I simply did things my way, against [...]

< click to enlarge Bodhicitta (Productions) has just released a compilation of their ‘greatest hits’ for free distribution, and will be giving a free anniversary performance (as above) soon. One of the group members passed me a copy of the CD recently, reminding me that I contributed lyrics to a couple of their songs years [...]

Looking at Looking over Looking after (Guanyin Bodhisattva image at Kong Meng San)

Above: [Stele with a Buddha & two Bodhisattvas, Eastern Wei (534–50 CE), Limestone, overall height 310 cm, Collection of the Qingzhou Museum, Shandong Province, China] Hmmm… a ‘smuggled’ shot from the exhibition? Who’s the naughty one!? Anyway, the museum’s shop sells a nice coffee table book with much better detailed shots of the images in [...]

Something simple happened a couple of days ago, that upon hindsight, seems more significant than not. I was seated at a coffeeshop eating with a friend. Some distance ahead was a table with three or four schoolgirls. I happened to look in their direction when they stood to leave. To my surprise, I saw a [...]

Here is an analysis of the poll question ‘What do you wish to attain by the end of this life?’ As of today, the results are: 38% : Go Pureland 20% : Be a Bodhisattva 11% : Don’t know 10% : Return a Human 08% : Be a Buddha 06% : Be a Stream-winner 05% [...]